BY SAHR ERIC D. MATTURI
Augustine M. Kambo, Admin and operations at EFAC-SL
The Education for All Coalition Sierra Leone, in collaboration with the Teaching Services Commission, on Tuesday February 13, 2024, disclosed that there are 65,140 male teachers and 26,718 countrywide that deserve attention.
Augustine M. Kambo, the head of finance, Admin and operations at EFAC-SL, disclosed that Sierra Leone has 65,140 male teachers across the country and 26, 718 Female Teachers,
He highlighted that there are more female teachers in the pre- primary school than the primary school, Junior secondary schools and Senior Secondary Schools. He underscored some of the reasons that contributed towards the decreased female teachers in primary schools, Junior secondary schools and Senior Secondary Schools. He highlighted that girls were often denied their rights to Education, and those in schools often face discrimination and violence, which negatively affects their learning. Adding that discrimination on social norms and unequal attitudes to girls Education. ” Some people prioritize investments in Boys Education, and this drives families to prioritize a future male breadwinner, and also leaves girls with less time to study or attend school, because they are engaged with house chores and other home work, “he stated.
He added that they want more women in the classrooms, as compared to men, because they know the issues, especially those affecting young girls in the society. But because they were being deprived of their education, that’s why they were unable to get more female teachers, especially in Junior secondary and Senior Secondary School levels. “I was subjected to sit on laps of boys due to overcrowding, bullying and insufficient seating accommodations on school buses,“ a lady from Freetown stated.
He reiterated that the recruitment of female teachers must be incentivized, such that the teaching service is able to attract more females to the teaching profession, given the ultimate benefits that this brings to the basic and Senior response to school related gender based violence, by strengthening the role and functions of guidance counselors in schools. He added that the Teaching Services Commission is to implement affirmative measures for more female teachers, so as to address the significant disparity between male and female teachers within the teaching profession.
The Director, Teacher management of the teaching services commission, Marian Sallay Abu, expressed that they have recruited over thirteen thousand teachers over the years. She commended the government for giving out scholarships to female students, offering engineering, Mathematics, Agriculture and other related fields of study, but they preferred working elsewhere instead of the classrooms, adding that there is not much money in the classroom. “Even those studying accounting, after graduations, they prefer working in the Banks instead of the classroom. So we are always having problems of requiting female teachers”, she said.
Director Sallay narrated her experience when she was a teacher. She explained that she wants female teachers to be in the classroom, because young girls will feel motivated and aspire to be like them. “When I was a teacher, I always have female students meet me and say “Aunty, I want to be your girlfriend. I want to be your daughter,” she said. She highlighted the role of female teachers as compared to male teachers, especially to the female students that is why they want to bring more female teachers into the classroom. In their last recruitment, there was a quotas and also applicable this academic year that they will recruit only two thousand teachers across the country.
She explained the experience they had over the years in terms recruiting teachers. Last year in Bonthe district, they wanted 70% women and 30% men, but because of the lack of teachers training college, they only have Bonthe tech. So they preferred teachers residing in Bo. At the end of the day after getting pin codes, they decided to return to their families, and Bonthe remained with few teachers. “Now, we have to take teachers from Bonthe Tech, even if they don’t qualify “she stated.